The Element Dance
by Rebecca Hb
Summary: A loosely related trio of ficlets based on season five. Jade, Jackie, and Valmont deal with the demon chis they encounter.
1. Wind in Her Hair

**Wind in Her Hair**

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Author's Notes: These are all one-shot ficlets. I have no plans to do anything more with the concepts I end up displaying in here.

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Jade grinned and looked down from the top bunk of her bed. So she was confined to her room _again_. No big deal, though, because she had a few new tricks that Jackie didn't know about yet.

She loved to fly.

The best thing when she first came to America hadn't been Uncle Jackie, or Section 13, or even the Dark Hand. That'd all been fun, sure, but they hadn't measured up to the Rooster Talisman.

'I can _fly_!'

Oh, man, she still remembered the sudden shock as the skateboard went soaring off the bridge. It had fallen into the river far below, but not her! Never her. Jade Chan had enough luck and pluck that she always came out golden- or at least not too badly hurt.

No, she hadn't fallen that night. She'd almost gotten sliced up by that monster sword of Tohru's (what'd he do with it?), but she'd turned the tables on him! Rooster Talisman's levitation extended to way more than just flight! She'd levitated Tohru (let him fly) and dropped him! Man, oh man, what a crash he'd made!

She hadn't gotten to fly again until after Shendu had been defeated the first time. Kepler's rocket pack had been useful, even fun, but it was noisy! The rocket fuel smelled weird, too, and hey, need for fuel cramped her style. Finn would have really hurt her if she hadn't taken care of him before the fuel ran out!

Lucky, lucky Jade the wonder-girl.

Jade leaned back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with her hands behind her head. Rabbit and Rooster were a great combination. Too bad she'd needed them to fight her new friend, Seymour. Okay, so he was actually the sky demon in disguise. She'd still liked him. It had been great having a friend at school.

She'd flown, though. Faster than the first time she'd had the Rooster Talisman, higher than when she'd had the rocket pack- It had been great. Especially with the enraged sky demon chasing her.

This new adventure with the chi powers of the demons was letting her learn some cool new stuff about those same demons. For instance, as the sky demon, Hsi Wu's powers were not so much of the air but of light without heat. Traditionally, the sky was the dome over the world where the stars, sun, and moon were placed. It was the barrier between the mortal world and the realm of the gods.

It was not air. Air was what lay below the sky. So, while Hsi Wu could fly and fly well, he hadn't been fighting in his element. She'd still come close to losing to him, though. He had way more experience than her, but she was a whole lot smarter than any demon ever born.

Well, okay, Tarakudo could give her a run for her money, but he was trapped in his mask. So, no floating head to toss her around and be smarter than her and try to convince her to go evil again.

Never, never again. The Queen of the Shadowkhan was dead.

She shivered and turned to face the wall. That wasn't worth thinking about. Not when she could remember what it was like to fly. She'd soared on the Rooster's wings three times now. When she first got it, when she fought Hsi Wu for his tail and her Uncle, and when Daolon Wong had tried to capture the real rooster.

Oh, wow, that had been great. The whole house had flown! They'd been soaring above Kansas, which was pretty terrifying when she was there but not so much now, and Jackie was fighting the Dark Hand, like always. Same old, same old, even with the eyeblasting pig and the whole "the house is flying?" thing.

But then-! Finn had broken the rope binding the rooster to the house and it had started to fall! So she'd ended up clinging to Jackie, the pig riding pig-a-back, and Jackie holding onto the rope with his teeth!

It had been so freaking cool.

Not quite as cool as the time she'd jumped out of that airplane, though. Man, she got more and more golden every year. Lucky Jade who never lost. She'd never have dreamed of taking a leap like that after she'd fallen off Valmont's office building. But, hey, things changed. Jackie had needed saving (again), and she'd been glad to do it (again). Just another step in proving herself to the adults.

She wouldn't stop doing that now that she knew her future, though. Sure, she would become the head of Section 13. She had to keep working at it though. That kind of thing didn't get handed to you on a platter.

Jade knew a secret that Jackie didn't. Most of her luck was just luck, but some of it (the best part of it) was being prepared for bad things to happen and having the guts to fight back when they did. Sometimes, you had to take advantage of the circumstances.

'Done congratulating yourself yet?' The not-quite voice croaked in her ear. 'If you want to learn to fly, you'll have to start small.'

"Yeah, yeah. Just show me what to do!" She turned over to keep an eye on the door. Please, oh please, don't let Jackie hear me. I don't want him to ask questions (I don't want to lie to him). This is way too important to me- We need these powers to fight Drago!

'It took me centuries to achieve full control, Jade-girl. This would be much easier if you had my chi.'

"No way! Jackie would find out what was going on if I took that back. Plus, unlike you, I like being thin."

He laughed croakingly. 'That physical transformation yesterday was an overload of my powers in you. It wouldn't happen with me to guide you. However, this is far more subtle and far trickier.'

"I can do it!" (I can fly!)

**The End**


	2. Earth Beneath His Feet

**Earth Beneath His Feet**

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A/N: The majority of the action and dialogue in this ficlet is borrowed from the Season Five episode, "Black and White and Chi All Over".

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Jackie pushed away from the tree, desperately trying to get the earth demon chi before Drago did. He couldn't let the demon become _more_ powerful! Shendu's son had already interfered too much with his life. There was an abrupt surge as he fell through the ethereal flower, but he still hurtled towards the ground-! He twisted in mid-air, neatly landing in a crouch on a rock.

"Ooh, tingly." Everything changed the moment he touched the earth. 'Tingly' didn't begin to describe it. He really wanted to sit down and figure out what was going on, but he didn't have time. He never had time anymore.

"Jackie! Do not let Drago touch you! He will try to drain demon chi!" Uncle yelled as he ran up. Jackie half-turned, reluctant to get off the rock. Granite was a good sort of rock, really. An easily recognizable shadow fell across him-

"Oh, I won't just touch you, Chan! I'll rip you apart!" The last sentence was a bit muddled as Drago's new tongue unfurled but Jackie got the gist of it. He dodged the half-dragon's fiery punch and back-flipped off the rock.

Going with his instincts, he then flung said rock at the half-dragon. The very large rock half-buried in the ground five feet away from him. That did the trick, but... well, it was a very large rock half-buried in the ground five feet away from him. He blinked and scratched his head. "Did I do that?"

"Of course! Why do you think it is called earth demon chi?" Uncle snapped.

One of Drago's new minions attacked him while he was distracted by the glow around his hands. Jackie grunted, blocking the blows with ease. Oh, come on, he thought. Didn't these kids know they were out-classed? Okay, grab his leg when the punk leaves it up too long, toss him over by Jade-

"Hey, Chan, catch." Drago soared up, the tour bus raised above his head. Jackie barely had time to react as Drago heaved it at him.

This was going to hurt... He crouched under the incoming bus, hands brushing against the earth. A jolt went through him and he began scrabble at the dirt. His first ineffectual motions soon turned into a routine that was strangely familiar as he dug. He was completely underground and tunneling rapidly away when he felt the bus's impact. The tremors tingled in his bones, and he absently noted where they rebounded within and over the earth. Ah, that's where Uncle had gotten to!

Tunneling was surprisingly easy. The dirt seemed to half-flow under his hands as he zoomed along underground. He dug around a few rocks that he didn't want to waste time splitting, but it otherwise went smoothly. This wasn't the sort of digging he usually did, but it was just as familiar.

He heaved the last bit of dirt aside and popped up in front of a very nice chunk of granite. Oh, and his uncle. "Uncle! Have you fixed the chi-o-matic?"

"Do not rush Uncle!"

A shadow fell across them both, and he turned towards the threat.

"Fire in the hole!" Drago yelled, tossing a fireball at him. Bad day, bad day, bad day!

Jackie dropped down again and took off. Uncle could take care of himself. Drago hadn't figured out how dangerous the old man was yet.

The dirt didn't even make the pretense of resisting him as he tunnelled. He had to stay underground, where the fire was just magma and he liked magma, and the earth embraced him like the brother he was. Rocks liquified under the redirected magma-heat and flowed through the soil to a place of his choosing. There. There he would smash the half-demon who denied the ground.

What kind of person wanted to fly when they could dig?

He threw his head back and roared, horns tossing aside the last bit of soil between him and the sky. He leapt from the earth's embrace, daring the sky to do his worst for the moment he was seperated from his element. The enemy still hovered nearby, insolent bastard. Jackie punched the ground as he landed, anger and half-sensed instincts guiding him. Rocks shattered and the earth buckled under the force of the blow- a crater formed around him even as he hurled the rock shards at Drago. The half-dragon whirled out of the way, and his hands glowed silver-

Oh, no. Drago was pulling him away from the earth.

"All that digging must have made you thirsty, Chan. How 'bout a little juice?" Malice filled the reverbed voice as he lifted Jackie towards the sparking power lines.

This was bad. Very bad. He struggled against the light as a feather grip, but there was really nothing he could do about it. Both demon chi vessels knew that, and this was going to hurt...-

"Tingly?" Drago muttered.

"Yu mo gua gua fai di tsou. Yu mo gua gua fai di tsou." Uncle's familiar chant echoed in Jackie's ears, tugging at something inside of him. He ignored it and paid attention to the still-approaching power lines.

The feather-light grip vanished and he dropped towards the ground like a stone. An instinctive twist in mid-air got his feet back under him and allowed his legs to absorb the impact. The earth boomed its welcome when he touched it again. He snorted and peered about. Where was the enemy?

Ah, fallen in the water. That would keep the fire demon out of the way, but his minions were chasing the girl-child. She was not his own spawn, but she was under his protection. Jackie knelt and spread his hands in the dirt. He stared blankly at it for a moment, then relaxed as the blue shone from his hands.

The ground split wide as two of the minions stalked the girl-child, capturing them before they realized what was happening. His ally grabbed the final minion and threw it into the crack, as well.

He withdrew his power and the earth closed around the three minions, tight enough that they felt its crushing force. But he did not allow it to kill them. He would be merciful for they had barely any demon chi. They were _weak_.

Drago was not, though, and he would try to harm the girl-child. Best to dispose of him now while the water threatened him.

"Jackie..." The old man said softly. "Come away, Jackie. You have a duty!"

He snorted and followed the old man away. Yes, duty. He couldn't kill the dragon now. He had to protect the demon chi the old man carried. It had to get back to San Francisco safely. Distantly, he was aware that he too would lose the demon chi when they got back to the city, but...

Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain.

**The End**


	3. Fire in His Mind

**Fire in His Mind**

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It had been exactly where he knew it would be.

Valmont picked up the dragon-hilted sword and smirked. He felt the click in his head, the joining of the chi remaining in his mind with the chi possessing the sword. The old psychic wounds that had resisted all the help his money could buy withered under the flames sweeping his mind as he reunited with himself.

It shouldn't have been a reunion, really. The old man's exorcism shouldn't have left these white-hot spikes in his mind.

But it had and it was. For two painful years, he had tried to pick up the shards of his life. Every time it seemed like he would recover, the fires lurking in his head surged through him, and he destroyed everything he had built up.

He had almost given up this last year. He had looked at his life and judged that there was nothing he could do anymore. He had fallen from the heights and he would never achieve half of what he once had. A miserable death was the only thing that waited for him.

Then the dream of the sword began. It drew him out of the despair he'd sunk into and gave him something to hold onto in the dark nights. He followed the dream-sword halfway across the globe, always looking for a clue to its actual whereabouts. The dreams had revealed where the first clue was, but they mostly left the rest of the journey to him. Paying for his travels hadn't been a problem, of course; he had stolen and murdered his way across the world before.

The British man wrapped the broadsword up carefully and tied it to his backpack. Time to leave, before the half-demon and Jackie Chan came after this demon chi. The fools would realize what had happened soon enough, but he didn't have to make it _easy_ for them. He smirked unpleasantly and picked his way through the broken rocks of the ancient mountain fortress.

Cold wind blew down from the heights to whirl around his feet, stirring up fallen leaves and pebbles. For a bare instant, it cut into his flesh like a knife. The sluggish lava-blood in his body flared terribly hot, and sweat began to drip down his body.

The half-demon should not have let him get so close at that little interview. Valmont nimbly leapt across the rubble blocking the gate. He might not have been able to understand what he had sensed then, but with the joining of the sword... Well, the demon chi would have been quite useless if it didn't impart the instincts of how to use it.

He stopped and took off the down-lined jacket, sighing in relief as he cooled down a bit. Red-tinted memories of that winter in the warehouse tried to filter into his mind but shoving them away was easier than ever.

The mountain seemed to rail against him taking the sword; the wind grew icier and he could almost taste the storm blowing down from the peak. A blizzard, he guessed, but what did he know about mountain storms? It was unpleasantly cold, though, and he kept raising his internal fires to compensate. His sweat turned to steam as it formed.

Valmont let his thoughts drift as he trudged down the mountain. All the previously insurmountable problems seemed so simple now. Even Jackie Chan could be easily handled and contained if he showed his face.

He would leave his old enforcers be. They deserved whatever life they had worked out for themselves, especially after that old chi wizard had gotten through with them. Hak Foo, though, was another matter. The Black Tiger would be useful for when Chan and Drago came calling.

A few snowflakes drifted past him, the ones that touched his skin turning to steam. Only an hour more till he reached the village...

At the foot of the mountain, he stopped at the shrine to the mountain goddess and stashed the pack and sword. His jacket and pants smoldered unpleasantly, while his shirt was already merrily ablaze. Unfortunately, the added light from the fire made the snow almost blinding.

In the end, he stumbled into the village barely ahead of the blizzard. Snow obscured his vision to no more than three feet ahead, and the wind howled in his ears. His clothes had crumbled to ashes ten minutes ago. Steam billowed from him, and his bare skin glowed with heat. When he brushed against an abandoned wagon, it burst into flames.

Laughter bubbled up in his throat. He had won! In the end, after being humbled and injured nigh unto death, he had beaten Shendu. The demon was a statue, while he was a free man.

After all, he didn't need the sword. The chi had transferred to him the moment he held it. He could leave it lie in the shrine, after taking the incriminating pack. Drago and Chan need never know what happened to the fire chi.

**The End**


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